TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of C$0.07

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of 0.07 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st.

TransAlta has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. TransAlta has a dividend payout ratio of 117.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.1%.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.18. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.08 and a beta of 0.69.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%. On average, analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.